Three words are going to be on the tips of attendees’ tongues when they see the Samsung booth at InfoComm 2018: easy, clear and abundant.
From digital flipcharts and huddle space solutions to high-brightness outdoor LCD solutions, large-scale video walls, HDR and micro-LED, Samsung will be showcasing its broad portfolio of commercial display solutions this year at the biggest annual AV conference in North America.
Smart digital signage displays and intuitive collaboration technologies have now matured to a level where we’re no longer talking about those things as goals or aspirations. We’re there — and the advancements on display at InfoComm will be driving competitors up The Wall.
When We Say Easy…
…we don’t mean, “after contacting customer service.” We understand that “easy” is an abused term. Almost every marketer calls their product or service easy to learn and easy to use. To be sure, it’s an attractive notion. But the reality is that what’s often called easy, really isn’t.
Think about the collaboration and presentation technologies used in many offices — like projection systems, interactive whiteboards, video presence theaters and even presentation monitors. Consider all the time and productivity lost as people struggle to get that equipment working and cooperating.
That’s all changing, and a product Samsung rolled out at the start of this year is a prime example of our quest to make technology genuinely easy, and investments worthwhile. The Samsung Flip is a digital spin on the old paper-based flipcharts that have been a staple in meeting rooms and classrooms for decades.
The Flip was designed to be so simple, anyone could walk up and start doing face-to-face collaboration without training. In fact, it doesn’t even need to be turned on — it has a proximity sensor that activates the display when a potential user comes near, or when the stylus is pulled from the built-in holder.
Controls are intuitive. Up to four users can work on notes and drawings at once, and meeting participants can use their own devices — whether laptops, tablets or smartphones — to push links, videos, spreadsheets or other visuals to the screen. It’s lightweight and portable, so it can be easily wheeled around office spaces, and it saves and sends notes to USB, email or the cloud — no need to write “Do Not Erase!” after every session. Best of all, it’s far more affordable than many other collaboration solutions.
The emphasis on easy extends to other workplace collaboration tools. Harman will be part of Samsung’s InfoComm booth demonstrating our combined huddle space solutions aimed at organizations needing easy video conferencing setups that allow for quick, impromptu meetings between geographically dispersed teams. We’ll also be demonstrating how our displays can be integrated with Cisco Spark Room Kits.
Huddle-centric technologies like high-resolution displays, wide-angle cameras and high-quality audio, when coupled with plug and play connectivity, make it easy for workers to quickly call meetings, without any of the fuss of booking specific rooms and ensuring the right technologies are on hand to connect with remotely-located colleagues, business partners or customers.
We’ll also talk about easy in the context of smart displays. I’ll be joining a June 6th Center Stage panel, along with representatives of the NBA’s Utah Jazz and RevelTV, talking about how hundreds of system-on-chip smart displays are behind a highly-efficient, ultra-reliable network at the team’s newly renovated home arena.
Light and Shadow
The term “clear” will manifest itself in a few ways on the InfoComm show floor, but perhaps the biggest reason will be the High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology that Samsung is building into both its LCD and LED displays. Acronyms are common in AV and tech in general, but HDR is one to remember — and embrace.
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I could get technical, but to stick with our easy and clear focus, HDR is display technology that opens up the full range of lighting possibilities to reveal colors at their most vivid and lifelike, letting viewers see the visuals the way they were intended.
Think about your home viewing experience of a moody drama. The plot moves to a pivotal moment in a darkened room — but all you see is a shadowy blur. With HDR, all the subtle shades of dark blue and black sharpen, unveiling all that missing detail. You also see the same at the other end of the spectrum — with the brightest elements no longer overpowering details and washing out other colors.
HDR is something that needs to be witnessed to be fully appreciated, and it’s quickly becoming a must-have for those AV pros and their customers who have seen the light — and the dark.
Video Wall, Meet ‘The Wall’
The last term is “abundant” — in the context of direct-view LED. We are entering an age of abundance in digital displays, when seamless digital canvases can be installed wherever they need to be. Fine pitch indoor LED is not constrained — like more conventional flat panel displays — by shape limitations, and can be easily configured to fill skyscraper lobbies, retail feature walls, airport concourses and other high-profile spaces.
Outdoor LEDs, meanwhile, don’t get overpowered by direct sunlight — a common problem with traditional options like projections — but remain bright and crisp at any time of day.
The technology is getting so miniaturized and precise that LED displays now rival high-definition flat panels, even for close-up viewing. At the Samsung booth, you’ll see a solution debuted earlier this year called “The Wall.” It’s a super-fine pitch micro-LED display that looks amazing at any distance, and is at the cutting-edge of display capabilities. The Wall is a glimpse of where LED — and the industry — is going.
Around Samsung, we understand the days are coming quickly when fine-pitch LED will be everywhere. Designers will be thinking of LED as a premium, active wall-covering.
These are exciting times in AV. If you’re coming to InfoComm, make a point of spending some quality time in the Samsung booth. We’d be happy to show you the present — and the future.
Explore our full portfolio of digital signage solutions ahead of the InfoComm presentation.
